Aerocool Power Supply Units Roundup. Page 5

We known Aerocool Company for their diverse system cases, but they also produce power supply units. In fact, they have four different PSU lineups. Today we are going to introduce to you two of them: three power supplies will represent the Value series and one – the highest-end Strike-X series.

Specifications

Unlike the other Andyson-based PSUs we’ve tested so far, the Strike-X 800W can deliver almost all of its output power across the +12V rail. The auxiliary voltages (-12V and +5V standby) are not included into the total: the PSU can yield 800 watts via the three main power rails.

The load capacity of the +5V and +3.3V rails exceeds the requirements of any modern computer.

The PSU is 80 PLUS Silver certified.

UPS Compatibility

Working together with our APC SmartUPS SC 620, the Strike-X 800W was stable at loads up to 374 watts when powered by the mains, but could not switch to the UPS’s batteries even at 280 watts.

Cross-Load Voltage Stability

Although not perfect in this test, the Strike-X 800W did much better than Aerocool’s Value series. None of its voltages goes out of the permissible range.

The most important +12V voltage is almost ideal at low loads, but deflects by up to 4% from the required level at high loads.

The +5V voltage is going to be within 2% of the required level in the load range typical of real-life computers. However, when there is a near-maximum load on the +12V rail, the +5V voltage may be 3 or 4% off.

The +3.3V voltage largely remains within 3% of the required level. It is only in idle mode, when there is low load on each power rail, that it is 4% off the required level.

This voltage stability would be good for a PSU that lacks dedicated voltage regulation. But the Strike-X 800W having such regulation, we must confess we expected it to perform better in this test.

Output Voltage Ripple

The high-frequency voltage ripple is not strong but there are occasional high spikes (beyond the permissible range on the +5V rail).

The same goes for the low-frequency ripple: it is weak but there are occasional spikes above the permissible limits on the +5V rail.

Temperature and Noise

The Strike-X 800W is cooled by an 11-blade 135mm Young Lin Tech fan (the DFS132512H model with a rated speed of 1700 RPM). The fan has a translucent red impeller but lacks highlighting. There are three partitions attached to one side of its frame that help optimize air flows.

The start speed of the fan is slightly above 600 RPM and remains the same until a load of 200 watts. Then the fan accelerates smoothly, reaching 1600 RPM at 730 watts and higher.

The fan is audible at loads above 400 watts and downright noisy at 600 watts and higher. We guess that your computer is going to have noisier components, like a graphics card cooler, at such a high load, though.

Overall, the Strike-X 800W is average in terms of acoustic comfort.

Efficiency and Power Factor

The power factor of the Strike-X 800W is high, up to 99%, just as you can expect from a PSU with active power factor correction.

At the reference loads of 20, 50 and 100%, it was 86.2%, 89.1% and 85.3% efficient. This complies with the 80 PLUS Silver requirements but by a very narrow margin at full load (we want to remind you that we have to test our PSUs in our 220V mains although the 80 PLUS certification refers to 115V mains in which efficiency is somewhat lower).

Standby Source

The standby source meets the industry requirements but is 4% off the required level at low and full loads.

Summary

The Strike-X 800W is not a failure like Aerocool's Value series, yet it is hardly a success. It is just a satisfactory product without anything extraordinary about its technical specs.

However, this product comes at a very attractive price. In fact, it costs about as much money as less efficient PSUs of similar wattage from non-flagship series of other brands such as Thermaltake TR2, FSP Epsilon and Corsair GS.

Coupled with its long cables and original exterior design, this may make it interesting as an affordable but high-wattage and high-efficiency PSU.